About: Brien Jackson

Born in Southwestern Ohio and currently residing on the Chesapeake Bay, Brien is a former editor-in-chief of IIATMS who now spends most of his time sitting on his deck watching his tomatoes ripen and consuming far more MLB Network programming than is safe for one's health or sanity.

Author Archives: Brien Jackson

When it was announced that C.C. Sabathia would be seeing Dr. James Andrews to look at his pitching elbow, the “comforting” report was that there was no suspected structural damage in the elbow, and that it was thought to be a bone spur. And indeed, Sabathia had arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from his left elbow today. Apparently everything went well, and all indications are that the Yankees’ ace should be ready to go by the time Spring Training rolls around.

It’s hard to believe this, but Phil Hughes will be eligible for free agency just one year from now. It doesn’t really seem possible given how young Hughes is, and how much development he still has left ahead of him, but assuming he plays in the majors for all of 2013, he’ll have a full six years of service time accrued at the end of the year, making him eligible to hit the open market. Unfortunately, that puts him right in the middle of the Yankees’ financial crossroads.

If you asked most people, I wager that they would assume Hughes would absolutely be a part of the Yankees’ austerity plans, but I’m not so sure that’s the case. Hughes really hasn’t been able to establish himself as a consistent r, reliable starter over the course of multiple seasons yet, and the Yankees had something of a stockpile of young pitching behind him. But now, with Manny Banuelos out of the question entirely following Tommy John surgery and Dellin Betances doing his best impression of Andrew Brackman, a 2014 rotation of only players under the Yankees’ control would be C.C.…

My guess is that, if the Yankees had their druthers, Ichiro Suzuki would be their starting right fielder when Openin Day rolls around this spring. According to Joel Sherman, that would be just fine with Ichiro himself. Sherman reports that someone close to Ichiro told him that the Japanese superstar loved his time in New York, particularly “playing in a professional, winning atmosphere.” He also expresses doubt that money would be an impediment to a deal if the Yankees want him back, noting that Ichiro deferred money on his last contract to make staying in Seattle possible.

On the other hand, Sherman also noted that the Giants are likely to have a lot of interest in acquiring Ichiro, and that they tried very hard to trade for him back in July. He also expresses skepticism that the Yankees would really have both Ichiro and Brett Gardner starting in the outfield, as they’re still a team built around power. My guess is that, thanks to the difficulties of complying with ownership’s austerity dictates, that won’t really be an issue now.…

Shohei Otani is the new shiny object on the international free agent radar, so of course the Yankees have been linked to him. Like most amateur free agents, I don’t really know anything about him (he’s 18 and he throws hard), but if you’re a Baseball America subscriber you can head over there and read Ben Badler’s scouting report on him. A sampling:

Otani has great arm speed and arm action with a loose, easy delivery. His fastball sits around 92-96 mph and has touched 98 (he hit 99 according to a video online, though BA could not find a scout who could confirm a reading above 98). Pitching every fifth day, Otani’s fastball may sit in the lower end of that range, but his power arm is a major draw for scouts. Some scouts liked the life on Otani’s fastball, though others thought it flattened out, which contributed to him getting hit against Canada.

For a team that feels as though it could be about to undergo some big changes, the Yankees have surprisingly few holes in their projected lineup for 2013. Six regular position and four pitchers who made multiple big league starts remain under team control, and you’ll probably see some of the team’s own free agents return to fill a few of those spots. So, “blow it up!” media histrionics aside, why is there a distinct feeling that things are going to be different in The Bronx when pitchers and catchers report in four long months?

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The right field situation is a prime example. In most circumstances, there wouldn’t even be a right field question. Nick Swisher has manned the position for the past four seasons, and to say he’s done so admirably would be an understatement. During his time in pinstripes, Swisher has hit .268/.367/.483 and averaged 3.75 fWAR per season. He hit .272/.364/.473 in 2012, good for a wRC+ of 128 and the second best on base percentage on the team.…

Brian Cashman is giving an interview on WFAN, and while much of the conversation is very similar to the interview he did on ESPN Radio Sunday, the Yankees’ general manager did confirm that Manny Banuelos, the team’s top pitching prospect, will miss the entirety of the 2013 season following Tommy John surgery. That’s not a surprise, obviously, but the Yankees arent even going to hint that he could make an early return, apparently.

Banuelos, who was all the rage after a strong Spring Training performance in 2011, struggled with walking batters after being promoted to Double-A that season, and then missed almost all of 2012, first with a back injury and then with an elbow injury. The latter problem was originally diagnosed as being non-structural and the Yankees were hoping to have him pitching in winter ball, but announced that he would indeed need Tommy John surgery during the last week of the regular season.

Via Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston, the Red Sox and David Ortiz are apparently in the process of “finalizing” a two year contract for their designated hitter. The two year term has apparently been agreed to by both sides, and they’re also reportedly close on the amount of money involved. I confess, I had really hoped that Ortiz, who hit .318/.415/.611 with 23 home runs in just 383 plate appearances this year, would be a Yankee in 2013, but if the Red Sox have indeed agreed to give him a two year contract you can pretty much forget about him going anywhere else. Alas, my dream of seeing Big Papi attacking the short porch for the good guys is probably dead now.

The Yankees don’t technically have a starting catcher lined up for the 2013 season, and there may be a late arrival to the radar for said job. According to Buster Olney, the Braves aren’t guaranteed to bring Brian McCann back for the 2013 season, and could look to trade him to free up payroll space. McCann, a former All-Star who had a dreadful 2012 season and just had shoulder surgery a week ago today. he’s expected to be ready to play next year, but the Braves may not be feeling as good about his $12 million option now as they once were.

Olney speculates that the Braves could attempt to negotiate a lower salary with McCann, but that seems unlikely to work, given that McCann would be eligible for free agency if the Braves were to buy out his option. That leaves picking up his option and trading him as the most likely means to a move, and here the question becomes what the Braves would want in return.…